Organize Refrigerator And Freezer Challenge Hall of Fame {Part 2}

by Taylor @ Home Storage Solutions 101

Here's the second part of the Organize Refrigerator and Freezer Challenge Hall of Fame, where readers who have taken the challenge for the week can show off their accomplishments, and what they've done to improve the functioning of their home this week.

Below you'll find more before and after pictures (scroll down to see them all), along with organizing and storage tips and ideas, from readers to get you inspired to tackle your own fridge and freezer clean up and organization project.

If what you see gets you excited to begin yourself, you can read the step by step instructions in the Organizing Refrigerator And Freezer Challenge.

Make sure to take some before and after pictures, and then you can show off all your hard work in the Creative Storage Solutions and Home Organization Hall of Fame.

Photo by sporkist

Organize Refrigerator Both On The Outside And Inside

by Angela @ Confessions of a Craft Addict

Angela from Confessions of a Craft Addict blogged about her results from the Refrigerator and Freezer Organization Challenge.

She had such great pictures I actually have two entries in the hall of fame to show them all. This first set shows several after pictures from where she organized her refrigerator, on both the outside and inside. (She actually has even more pictures of the before and after of her refrigerator in her blog post, since she decluttered both the front and side of her fridge.)

Below you can also see Angela's pictures from her freezer organization.

Freezer Organization Pictures For Both Side By Side And Upright Freezers

by Angela @ Confessions of a Craft Addict

Like I said above, Angela from Confessions of a Craft Addict had so many great pictures I've actually featured her twice in this hall of fame.

These pictures show her organization efforts for two different freezers she's got in her home. First, she has a side-by-side freezer, next to her refrigerator, and in addition, she has an upright freezer where she stores produce from her garden, from the co-op and also food gifts from friends and family members.

If you've got a garden or get fresh produce from a co-op freezer organization is essential, since you've got to be able to preserve all that produce while its fresh, for use all through the winter and early spring.

The pictures Angela shared are a great example of how to do it, where you can find what you need, when you need it.

Notice her use of both freezer storage containers, but also how she uses freezer storage bags to store lots of her produce. I love using freezer bags for storing things, since they take up so much less room than actual containers, and that way you can pack a lot more food into a small space.

Creating Sections In Refrigerator And Freezer For Better Organization

by Jennifer @ Life of Reilly

Jennifer from Life of Reilly shared how she did the Organize Refrigerator and Freezer Challenge in her home, on her blog.

I really liked how she thought about the sections and uses of her refrigerator and freezer before she began organizing, so she could create all the "zones" or areas she needed to make them functional.

Some of the sections in her refrigerator that I thought were especially well thought out included the following:

• Section for her son's food, since he has food allergies: this section allows anyone, from family members or baby sitters to know exactly what he can eat, so there is no chance of him getting something he shouldn't have


• Section for leftovers, lunches and snacks: This section allows her hubby, who packs his lunch, to know exactly what is available


• Food planned for menus: this section holds all the ingredients that are needed for specific recipes that will be made during the week, so no one accidentally eats it as a snack or something and makes it impossible to prepare the planned meals


• Space to thaw meat from the freezer

In addition, she similarly organized her freezer into various sections too.

I love how this organizational method has helped her family. She says:

This makes it much easier to know what I have, and to plan meals around what I have in my inventory.

That is exactly the type of benefit that the Organize Refrigerator and Freezer Challenge can give to you! Thanks so much for the inspiration and great before and after pictures Jennifer.

I Was Inspired To Clean Out My Refrigerator And Freezer

by Lisa
(Michigan)

Lisa says:

What an accomplishment today was in my kitchen! I got up this morning, painted my door/window trim, base boards, and my kitchen cabinets!

Then I came out to check out my emails, and came across this weeks challenge of Cleaning my refrigerator/freezer. So, THAT too is now done! Thanks for the motivation!

Taylor says:

I'm so glad the newsletter challenges inspired you Lisa. Thanks so much for sharing all your accomplishments with me!

Organize Refrigerator Plus Freezer Organization With Baskets

by Jan @ The Crafty Mermaid's Grotto

Jan from The Crafty Mermaid's Grotto blogged about the Organize Refrigerator and Freezer Challenge, sharing both her before and after pictures.

I could only choose four to show off in this hall of fame post, so I chose all her "after" pictures. You should check out her blog post for all the before pictures too, since there was a great transformation.

As you can see from the pictures she organized both her fridge, and also both of her freezers. She has a small one above her refrigerator, and also an upright one in her basement.

I know a lot of people really want an upright freezer instead of chest one, and at least from an organization standpoint I can definitely see their point. With a chest freezer you've got to use freezer baskets to organize, but they are all stacked on top of each other making it difficult to find what you need, at least without a freezer map.

On the other hand, I am in awe of the organized look of Jan's organized upright freezer. She too used baskets for organization, but as you can see it is so much easier to get to each basket when they are on shelves.

Here is what she said about the baskets she used:

I bought these plastic baskets from Target. They have a wide weave, so air can move through them and they are STURDY!

I like these baskets, since they are really cute and do look sturdy. I would caution that plastic, when it gets cold, can get brittle and break, so it may be a good idea to buy baskets designed for the freezer to alleviate this problem.

However, if you can find some cute cheap baskets you may want to try it, and just switch them out if you notice one of them starting to get brittle or crack. If you're looking to avoid this issue, for sure though, I'd go with wire metal baskets (I've listed some of both below as examples).

Organized Freezer Baskets To Labels Plus Inventory

by Megan L. @ Life of the Lorenzens
(Waverly, IA)

Megan from Life of the Lorenzens shared some of her pictures from her freezer organization project here, for the hall of fame.

She also organized her refrigerator, and shares even more pictures of her process of organizing the freezer on her blog, including how she labeled everything so beautifully, so definitely go check it out!

Megan says:

I completed a much-needed reorganization of my freezers and cleaned out the fridge. I had fun making cute, reusable labels for new freezer baskets. I also updated my white board inventory system.

Taylor says:

Megan, your pictures are lovely, and I can tell you put a lot of work and effort into your organization project. Thanks for sharing a couple of the pictures with me here for the hall of fame.

One of the great tips from Megan's blog post was that she and her family ate from the freezer for a while before she began organizing it, so it could be more emptied out before she began. She did it before, but I know many readers have been inspired to eat out of their pantries and freezers for a few more meals after they went through the organization process too. I think either works great!

Look at her pictures closely, and you'll see the lovely labels she created as part of her organization project. Here was how she made her labels, which I think was a great idea. Megan says:

I made labels on the computer on an address label sheet and stuck them on cut up pieces of scrapbook paper. Then I laminated them with clear contact paper that I found in the attic upstairs and punched holes in the top. They can either be taped on to containers or I can use a white twist-tie to attach them to a wire freezer basket. I made a few extras as well as some blank ones if I decided to do things differently at any time.

One final thing - I love how she created a map of her chest freezer plus a freezer inventory with the same white board! Not only does she know where each basket is in her chest freezer now, but she also can add and subtract from the list as she goes, so she's got a freezer inventory form at the same time. I also like the idea of the white board, because it is easy to add and subtract from the list as needed.

Do You Want To Join The Organize Refrigerator And Freezer Challenge Now?

I hope these before and after pictures from readers has inspired you to get your own fridge and freezer in shape.

If it has, you can read all the steps in the Organizing Refrigerator And Freezer Challenge for yourself, and get started.

If you're as proud of your accomplishments as these other readers above, I'd love for you to share your pictures with me so I can feature you in the hall of fame too. You can submit up to four pictures per submission to the Creative Storage Solutions and Home Organization Hall of Fame.

Some links on this page are affiliate links, meaning that if you purchase a product through them I receive a small commission which helps me provide this information to you for free, plus support my family. My integrity and your satisfaction are very important to me so I only recommend products I would purchase myself, and that I believe would benefit you. To learn more please see my disclosure statement.

Related Links At Home Storage Solutions 101

Join The 52 Weeks To An Organized Home Challenge

Go From Organize Refrigerator And Freezer Challenge Hall Of Fame To Home Storage Solutions 101 Home Page